What if
by craftyjhawk
Summary: Brennan leaves for Maluku. Or does she?


_Looking through a folder on my laptop, I found this unfinished one-shot. Suddenly inspired, I decided to dust it off and try to finish it for you, my lovely readers. It covers a time that I seem to revisit often (hopefully not too often). I hope you enjoy it. Consider it an early Christmas present._

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Watching him turn and walk away hurt more than she could have imagined. She could stand and watch as he walked out of the terminal, or she could go to her departure gate and board the first of several flights that would take her to Maluku. She turned and walked toward her gate, the boarding announcement still ringing in her ears.

Each step she took was more difficult than the one before. The tears that filled her eyes blurred her vision. Neither of those kept her from looking back one more time for one more mental picture to keep with her for the next year. Looking over her shoulder, her breath caught in her throat when she found him doing the same. He held her gaze for another moment before turning back toward the exit, striding out of her life.

Booth had been right when he said things would change. They would both come back a year from now, having had different experiences, and things would be changed. They could lose what they'd had for the past five years. Or the distance could make it stronger. There was just no way to predict the outcome.

Brennan considered her options in the time it took Booth to exit the terminal and found she had one more. Without releasing the handle of her wheeled carry-on bag, she turned toward the exit that Booth had just passed through. With the sound of her colleagues, her friends calling out to her, she followed the path Booth had taken. She passed through the exit after the glass door slid open at her approach. Looking right and then left, she finally saw his head bobbing above those walking near him.

"Booth!"

He stopped in his tracks and paused a moment before turning back toward her. She determinedly walked toward him, her eyes never leaving his. She didn't stop her approach, not even when she had invaded his personal space. Unconsciously releasing the handle of her bag, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck, pulling him down toward him as she popped up on her toes and kissed him.

Shocked, Booth didn't move for a moment or two, not completely convinced that he wasn't dreaming. Brennan, sensing his hesitance, moved in even closer, leaving no space between them, putting more of herself in the kiss, hoping that he would understand what she was trying to say. Message sent and received, Booth locked his arms around Brennan and deepened the kiss. When the need to breathe forced them apart, they stared at each other, oblivious to the people bustling around them. Acting on an unspoken agreement, Booth put one hand in the air to hail a taxi while his other arm went around Brennan, keeping her close, preventing her from running.

The cab had barely reached a complete stop when Booth pulled the door open. Nudging Brennan into the cab, he picked up her case and climbed in beside her. Giving the driver the name of the first hotel he could think of, he pulled Brennan into another kiss, his fingers threading through her hair, rubbing his thumb along her cheekbone, anything to reassure himself that this was really happening.

All too soon, and not nearly soon enough, the taxi pulled up in front of the hotel. He tossed some cash toward the driver before opening the door and pulling Brennan out behind him. He held her hand tightly, afraid that any moment she would change her mind. She held his hand while he got a room, leaning in to him, laying her head against his shoulder and smiling more than she could ever remember doing before.

Later, neither of them would remember the elevator ride. They were too focused on watching the numbers climb, mentally counting down to their floor. The elevator stopped, the doors opened and who was dragging whom to their room was not readily apparent. A slip of the keycard in the reader, a twist of a handle, a hand pushing against the wooden door and their destination had been reached.

Brennan took control, using Booth's body to shut the door as she pushed him back into it. Torn between kissing him within an inch of his life and stripping him of all his clothing, Brennan decided to do both. With fumbling hands, she managed to strip him of ACU shirt, pushing it off his shoulders and down his arms to fall on the floor. She sighed in relief when he grabbed the back of his t shirt and pulled it over his head, even if it did mean they had to separate for a moment.

Without her realizing it, he began to walk her backwards across the room toward the bed, only stopping when her legs made contact with it. She was surprised when he grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. She hadn't realized that he had already removed her trench coat and suddenly she felt entirely overdressed.

His eyes grew huge as she reached behind her to remove her bra. Tentatively, he reached out, brushing the straps off her shoulders, afraid to move too fast, fearing she would change her mind. The touch of his fingers on her shoulder was followed by the touch of his lips in the exact same spot and for the first time in her life, Brennan understood what it meant to melt. The tenderness in Booth's touch affected her in ways she had never imagined, weakening her outward from her very core. Her bra slipped down her arms, past her fingertips and at the moment it hit the floor, Booth swept her up in his arms and gently, reverently laid her on the bed. Between passionate kisses and exploring touches, Booth managed to finish undressing Brennan and then himself, leaving only their longing in the space between them.

When neither of them could wait a second longer, he aligned their bodies, from their hands clasped together above her head, all the way down to where it really mattered. With their eyes locked on each other, Booth began to move slowly, just on the cusp of -

"Excuse me, Dr. Brennan. We're preparing to land. I need you to return your seat to its upright position."

Brennan watched the flight attendant as she moved through the cabin, waking other sleeping passengers.

A dream. It was only a dream. To be so close to what she wanted and needed most, only to find it wasn't real. The thought was so painful it felt like a crushing weight on her chest. But, she only had herself to blame. She had pushed him away. She had decided to go to Maluku. Now, she had to live without him for the next year. Maybe even for forever.

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 _I hope you enjoyed it! All mistakes are my own, as I decided to proof it myself. love to you all - craftyj_


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